By Alexandra Straub, Montreal Gazette

Originally published: December 4, 2012

It seems that anyone who knows about the Porsche Panamera has an opinion on it. Most are founded purely based on looks. And a lot of them don’t lean in the positive direction.

Then again, a lot of them are based on test drive experiences. And from what I gathered, people who drive the vehicle but aren’t a huge fan of its looks often change their mind about it.

After all, this sedan is one of the top-selling vehicles in the German automaker’s portfolio, so Porsche must be doing something right.

And with the latest model in the four-door, four-passenger lineup — the GTS — there are 430 more reasons to like it.

Design

Let’s face it, the Panamera has extremely polarizing styling. If you’re repulsed or attracted to it upon first glance, chances are that’s how you’ll remain. But then there are the fence-sitters, like me. I actually don’t mind its quirkiness. Am I in love with it? Not necessarily, but of all the Panamera models available, this is by far my favourite. Why? Because the GTS trim brings a little extra flavour to the table.

Not only has it been lowered by 10mm, it also sports an exceptionally heavenly exterior coat called Carmine Red, which is exclusively available on this model. The paint job is an additional $3,590, but well worth it. It really highlights and accentuates the black bits that further garnish the outside.

Juxtaposed with the optional set of 20-inch Panamera Sport wheels, there are more goodies to draw in the eyes.

Inside, its lavish cabin is adorned with leather and Alcantara trimmed seats in a choice of five colours. The steering wheel can also be draped in the velvety material ($340), so it feels as though your fingers and hands are visiting the spa each time you’re behind the wheel.

That’s not all. The soft-touch Alcantara is also found fused into the roofliner, upper sections of the door armrests and front centre console armrest.

Buttons and knobs flow longitudinally from the dash, along the centre stack and to the rear of the car. They’re easily deciphered and grouped by geography; meaning, the controls on the right side are for the front passenger and on the left, for the driver.

Performance

The GTS builds upon the already potent Panamera S/4S trim. The modified 4.8-litre V8 naturally aspirated engine under the long hood boasts an impressive 430 horsepower and 384 foot-pounds of torque. That’s up 30 horsepower and 15 foot-pounds of torque from the S/4S.

And with the increased power comes an upgrade in braking capabilities thanks to larger-diameter front brake rotors, which are adopted from the Panamera Turbo.

All the power is put to the pavement via one of my favourite dual clutch transmissions on the market: the seven-speed PDK. Whether letting the vehicle choose the gear it wants to operate in or selecting the gears manually via the paddle shifters, it’s a win/win situation.

Acceleration time clocks in at 4.5 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint.

Driving/Utility

Despite the GTS being a performance machine at heart, it doubles as an everyday driver, and does it very well.

The Panamera is not a svelte vehicle like its siblings. Nor does it pretend to be. It’s wide and has a brawny set of tires. But it still has the speed and performance of its racing heritage and is a capable track car. It also seats four adults inside with no problem.

When you’re not at the track with it, it also has the practicality and comfort of a sports sedan.

Its chassis comes equipped with the adaptive air suspension and Porsche Active Suspension Management to literally adapt to different driving environments. It does so through regulating levelling settings, adjusting height, modifying the spring rate and electrically modulating the damping system.

If you change into, for example, Sport Plus, the car drops another 5mm; keeping in mind the GTS is already 10mm lower than its counterparts in “Normal” mode. Whatever the situation, this performer is ready to take the stage.

Additionally, the all-wheel drive system allows you to enjoy all types of driving environments from sunny to snow.

Estimated fuel economy results come in at 13.3L/100km in the city and 8.5L/100km on the highway. I averaged 12.3L/100km with a combination of city and highway driving. In the grand scheme of things, that’s quite good for a vehicle as competent and sizeable as it is.